Chess develops imagination and creativity. It encourages you to be inventive by the moves you make. There are so many combinations yet to be constructed.

Chess teaches independence. You are forced to make important decisions. Only you can decide where to make your next move.

Chess develops the capability of predicting and foreseeing the results of your moves.

Chess inspires self-motivation. It encourages you to search for the best move and the best plan.

Chess shows that success rewards hard work. The more you practise, the better you will become.

Chess develops the scientific way of thinking. Whilst playing, you explore new ideas, try to predict their outcomes, make your move and test it.

Chess and Mathematics. Chess involves an infinite number of calculations. Young players may count the number of attackers and defenders and older players may calculate lengthy continuations.

Chess and research. There are many chess resources for every aspect of the game.

Chess and Psychology. Chess is a test of patience, nerves, will-power and concentration. You spend much time interacting with other people. It also tests your sportsmanship in a competitive environment.

Chess improves school work and grades. Numerous studies have proven that learners obtain a higher reading level, Maths level and a greater learning ability overall, as a result of playing chess. A scientific survey has shown that Science and Maths marks of chess players could improve by 20 to 30%. By playing chess, a learner’s IQ could improve by up to 5% per year.

Chess opens up the world for you. You don’t need to be a high-ranked player to enter competitions. Chess provides you with plenty of opportunities to travel to places in SA and abroad to play in competitions. Chess is a universal language and you can communicate with anyone over the board.

Chess enables you to meet many interesting people. You will make life-long friendships with people you meet through chess.

Chess is cheap. You don’t need expensive and fancy equipment in order to play chess. All you need is a chess board and chess pieces.

Chess is fun. No chess game ever repeats itself which means that you create more and more new ideas during each game. It never becomes boring.